Systems and methods for cloud data deployment based on preferential and/or existing subscription relationships

ABSTRACT

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for transporting data to a cloud network. In aspects, an administrator of a data payload may wish to transport the data payload from a data distribution service to a candidate cloud provider to leverage cost, security, redundancy, consolidation, or other advantages. The data distribution service can identify candidate cloud providers that are able to host the data payload. Further, the data distribution service can examine any relationships between the administrator and the candidate cloud providers, and, based on the relationships, can present the administrator with respective offers from the candidate cloud providers to host the data payload. The administrator can review the offers, make a selection, and the data payload can be transported to the selected candidate cloud provider for hosting.

FIELD

The invention relates generally to systems and methods for datamigration to a cloud-based storage network, and more particularly, toplatforms and techniques for examining relationships between entitiesand cloud-based storage networks to prepare data payloads for deliveryto the cloud-based storage network.

BACKGROUND

The advent of cloud-based computing architectures has opened newpossibilities for the rapid and scalable deployment of virtual Webstores, media outlets, social networking sites, and many other on-linesites or services. In general, a cloud-based architecture deploys a setof hosted resources such as processors, operating systems, software andother components that can be combined together to form virtual machines.A user or customer can request the instantiation of a virtual machine orset of machines from those resources from a central server or cloudmanagement system to perform intended tasks, services, or applications.For example, a user may wish to set up and instantiate a virtual serverfrom the cloud to create a storefront to market products or services ona temporary basis, for instance, to sell tickets to or merchandise foran upcoming sports or musical performance. The user can subscribe to theset of resources needed to build and run the set of instantiated virtualmachines on a comparatively short-term basis, such as hours or days, fortheir intended application.

Existing systems can include a data distribution service configured tohost a set of data prior to transporting the set of data to thecloud-based storage. For various reasons, an administrator or other usermay wish to consider transporting or migrating the set of data residentin the data distribution service to the cloud-hosted storage. Forexample, the administrator may have migrated the set of data from anon-premise network to the distribution service, to be transported to thecloud-hosted storage. In addition, the administrator may have anexisting relationship with various cloud storage providers that couldmake possible the transport of the set of data. Instead of manuallyconfiguring the transport of the set of data, the administrator may wishto be presented with a set of options for transporting the set of datato one or more of the cloud providers, based on the relationships.Further, the administrator may want to use existing subscriptions orentitlements with the cloud providers to leverage data hosting terms andoffers.

Therefore, it may be desirable to provide systems and methods fordeploying a set of data to a cloud-based network based on existingsubscriptions or relationships. In particular, it may be desirable toprovide systems and methods for presenting an administrator with cloudhosting options based on relationships between the administrator and thecloud-based networks.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall cloud system architecture in which variousaspects of systems and methods for transporting data based on existingrelationships can be practiced, according to embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an overall cloud system architecture in which variousaspects of systems and methods for transporting data based on existingrelationships can be practiced, in further regards;

FIG. 3 illustrates a network configuration in which a data distributionservice can be established between a premise network and host storagecloud, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a network configuration in which various aspects ofsystems and methods for transporting data based on existingrelationships can be practiced, according to embodiments, according tovarious embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration for a cloudmanagement system that can support and maintain one or more cloud-basednetworks, according to various embodiments; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart for configuring a transport of data to acloud-based network based on existing relationships, according tovarious embodiments.

DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described herein can be implemented in or supported by acloud network architecture. As used herein, a “cloud” can comprise acollection of hardware, software, services, and/or resources that can beinvoked to instantiate a virtual machine, process, or other resource fora limited or defined duration. As shown for example in FIG. 1, thecollection of resources supporting a cloud 102 can at a hardware levelcomprise a set of resource servers 108 configured to deliver computingcomponents needed to instantiate a virtual machine, process, service, orother resource. For example, one group of resource servers in set ofresource servers 108 can host and serve an operating system, and/orcomponents, utilities, or interfaces related to that operating system,to deliver to a virtual target, and instantiate that machine with animage of that operating system. Another group of servers in set ofresource servers 108 can accept requests to host computing cycles orprocessor time, memory allocations, communications ports or links,and/or other resources to supply a defined level of processing power orthroughput for a virtual machine. A further group of resource servers inset of resource servers 108 can host and serve applications or othersoftware to load on an instantiation of a virtual machine, such as anemail client, a browser application, a messaging application, or otherapplications, software, or services. Other types of resource servers canbe used to support one or more clouds 102.

In embodiments, the entire set of resource servers 108 and/or otherhardware or software resources used to support one or more clouds 102,along with the set of instantiated virtual machines, can be managed by acloud management system 104. The cloud management system 104 cancomprise a dedicated or centralized server and/or other software,hardware, services, and network tools that communicate via network 106,such as the Internet or other public or private network, with allservers in set of resource servers 108 to manage the cloud 102 and itsoperation. To instantiate a new or updated set of virtual machines, auser can transmit an instantiation request to the cloud managementsystem 104 for the particular type of virtual machine they wish toinvoke for their intended application. A user can for instance make arequest to instantiate a set of virtual machines configured for email,messaging or other applications from the cloud 102. The virtual machinescan be instantiated as virtual client machines, virtual appliancemachines consisting of special-purpose or dedicated-task machines asunderstood in the art, and/or as other virtual machines or entities. Therequest to invoke and instantiate the desired complement of virtualmachines can be received and processed by the cloud management system104, which identifies the type of virtual machine, process, or otherresource being requested in that platform's associated cloud. The cloudmanagement system 104 can then identify the collection of hardware,software, service, and/or other resources necessary to instantiate thatcomplement of virtual machines or other resources. In embodiments, theset of instantiated virtual machines or other resources can, forexample, and as noted, comprise virtual transaction servers used tosupport Web storefronts, Web pages, and/or other transaction sites.

In embodiments, the user's instantiation request can specify a varietyof parameters defining the operation of the set of virtual machines tobe invoked. The instantiation request, for example, can specify adefined period of time for which the instantiated collection ofmachines, services, or processes is needed. The period of time can be,for example, an hour, a day, a month, or other interval of time. Inembodiments, the user's instantiation request can specify theinstantiation of a set of virtual machines or processes on a task basis,rather than for a predetermined amount or interval of time. Forinstance, a user could request a set of virtual provisioning servers andother resources until a target software update is completed on apopulation of corporate or other machines. The user's instantiationrequest can in further regards specify other parameters that define theconfiguration and operation of the set of virtual machines or otherinstantiated resources. For example, the request can specify a specificminimum or maximum amount of processing power or input/output (I/O)throughput that the user wishes to be available to each instance of thevirtual machine or other resource. In embodiments, the requesting usercan for instance specify a service level agreement (SLA) acceptable fortheir desired set of applications or services. Other parameters andsettings can be used to instantiate and operate a set of virtualmachines, software, and other resources in the host clouds. One skilledin the art will realize that the user's request can likewise includecombinations of the foregoing exemplary parameters, and others. It maybe noted that “user” herein can include a network-level user orsubscriber to cloud-based networks, such as a corporation, governmententity, educational institution, and/or other entity, includingindividual users and groups of users.

When the request to instantiate a set of virtual machines or otherresources has been received and the necessary resources to build thosemachines or resources have been identified, the cloud management system104 can communicate with one or more set of resource servers 108 tolocate resources to supply the required components. Generally, the cloudmanagement system 104 can select servers from the diverse set ofresource servers 108 to assemble the various components needed to buildthe requested set of virtual machines, services, or other resources. Itmay be noted that in some embodiments, permanent storage, such asoptical storage or hard disk arrays, may or may not be included orlocated within the set of resource servers 108 available to the cloudmanagement system 104, since the set of instantiated virtual machines orother resources may be intended to operate on a purely transient ortemporary basis. In embodiments, other hardware, software or otherresources not strictly located or hosted in one or more clouds 102 canbe accessed and leveraged as needed. For example, other software orservices that are provided outside of one or more clouds 102 acting ashosts, and are instead hosted by third parties outside the boundaries ofthose clouds, can be invoked by in-cloud virtual machines or users. Forfurther example, other non-cloud hardware and/or storage services can beutilized as an extension to the one or more clouds 102 acting as hostsor native clouds, for instance, on an on-demand, subscribed, orevent-triggered basis.

With the resource requirements identified for building a network ofvirtual machines, the cloud management system 104 can extract and buildthe set of virtual machines or other resources on a dynamic, on-demandbasis. For example, one set of resource servers 108 may respond to aninstantiation request for a given quantity of processor cycles with anoffer to deliver that computational power immediately and guaranteed forthe next hour or day. A further set of resource servers 108 can offer toimmediately supply communication bandwidth, for example on a guaranteedminimum or best-efforts basis, for instance over a defined window oftime. In other embodiments, the set of virtual machines or otherresources can be built on a batch basis, or at a particular future time.For example, a set of resource servers 108 may respond to a request forinstantiation of virtual machines at a programmed time with an offer todeliver the specified quantity of processor cycles within a specificamount of time, such as the next 12 hours. Other timing and resourceconfigurations are possible.

After interrogating and receiving resource commitments from the set ofresource servers 108, the cloud management system 104 can select a groupof servers in the set of resource servers 108 that match or best matchthe instantiation request for each component needed to build the user'srequested virtual machine, service, or other resource. The cloudmanagement system 104 for the one or more clouds 102 acting as thedestination for the virtual machines can then coordinate the integrationof the identified group of servers from the set of resource servers 108,to build and launch the requested set of virtual machines or otherresources. The cloud management system 104 can track the identifiedgroup of servers selected from the set of resource servers 108, or otherdistributed resources that are dynamically or temporarily combined, toproduce and manage the requested virtual machine population, services,or other cloud-based resources.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can generate a resourceaggregation table or other record that identifies the various selectedsets of resource servers in set of resource servers 108 that will beused to supply the components of the set of instantiated virtualmachines, services, or processes. The selected sets of resource serverscan be identified by unique identifiers such as, for instance, Internetprotocol (IP) addresses or other addresses. In aspects, different setsof servers in set of resource servers 108 can be selected to deliverdifferent resources to different users and/or for differentapplications. The cloud management system 104 can register the finalizedgroup of servers in the set resource servers 108 contributing to orotherwise supporting the set of instantiated machines, services, orprocesses.

The cloud management system 104 can then set up and launch theinitiation process to instantiate the virtual machines, processes,services, and/or other resources to be hosted and delivered from the oneor more clouds 102. The cloud management system 104 can for instancetransmit an instantiation command or instruction to the registered groupof servers in the set of resource servers 108. The cloud managementsystem 104 can receive a confirmation message back from each registeredserver in set of resource servers 108 indicating a status or stateregarding the provisioning of their respective resources. Variousregistered resource servers may confirm, for example, the availabilityof a dedicated amount of processor cycles, amounts of electronic memory,communications bandwidth, services, and/or applications or othersoftware prepared to be served and delivered.

As shown for example in FIG. 2, after coordination of the sources andconfiguration of resources including the hardware layer, selectedsoftware, and/or other resources, the cloud management system 104 canthen instantiate a set of virtual machines 116, and/or other appliances,services, processes, and/or entities, based on the resources supplied byservers within set of resource servers 108 registered to support the oneor more clouds 102 in a multiple-cloud network 110. According toaspects, cloud management system 104 can access or interact with avirtualization module, platform, or service to instantiate and operateset of virtual machines 116, such as the kernel-based virtualizationmanager (KVM™) available from Red Hat, Inc. of Raleigh, N.C., or others.In embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can instantiate a givennumber, for example, 10, 500, 1000, 20,000, or other numbers orinstances of virtual machines to populate one or more clouds 102 and bemade available to users of that cloud or clouds. In aspects, users mayaccess the one or more clouds 102 via the Internet, or other public orprivate networks. Each virtual machine can be assigned an instantiatedmachine ID that can be stored in the resource aggregation table, orother record or image of the instantiated virtual machine population.Additionally, the cloud management system 104 can store data related tothe duration of the existence or operation of each operating virtualmachine, as well as the collection of resources utilized by the overallset of instantiated virtual machines 116.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can further store, trackand manage each user's identity and associated set of rights orentitlements to software, hardware, and other resources. Each user thatoperates a virtual machine or service in the set of virtual machines inthe cloud can have specific rights and resources assigned and madeavailable to them, with associated access rights and securityprovisions. The cloud management system 104 can track and configurespecific actions that each user can perform, such as the ability toprovision a set of virtual machines with software applications or otherresources, configure a set of virtual machines to desiredspecifications, submit jobs to the set of virtual machines or otherhost, manage other users of the set of instantiated virtual machines 116or other resources, and/or other privileges, entitlements, or actions.The cloud management system 104 associated with the virtual machine(s)of each user can further generate records of the usage of instantiatedvirtual machines to permit tracking, billing, and auditing of theresources and services consumed by the user or set of users. In aspectsof the present teachings, the tracking of usage activity for one or moreusers (including network level users and/or end-users) can be abstractedfrom any one cloud to which that user is registered, and made availablefrom an external or independent usage tracking service capable oftracking software and other usage across an arbitrary collection ofclouds, as described herein. In embodiments, the cloud management system104 of an associated cloud can for example meter the usage and/orduration of the set of instantiated virtual machines 116, to generatesubscription and/or billing records for a user that has launched thosemachines. In aspects, tracking records can in addition or instead begenerated by an internal service operating within a given cloud. Othersubscription, billing, entitlement and/or value arrangements arepossible.

The cloud management system 104 can configure each virtual machine inset of instantiated virtual machines 116 to be made available to usersvia one or more networks 106, such as the Internet or other public orprivate networks. Those users can for instance access set ofinstantiated virtual machines 116 via a browser interface, via anapplication server such as a Java™ server, via an applicationprogramming interface (API), and/or other interface or mechanism. Eachinstantiated virtual machine in the set of instantiated virtual machines116 can likewise communicate with its associated cloud management system104 and the registered servers in set of resource servers 108 via astandard Web application programming interface (API), or via othercalls, protocols, and/or interfaces. The set of instantiated virtualmachines 116 can likewise communicate with each other, as well as othersites, servers, locations, and resources available via the Internet orother public or private networks, whether within a given cloud in one ormore clouds 102, or between those or other clouds.

It may be noted that while a browser interface or other front-end can beused to view and operate the set of instantiated virtual machines 116from a client or terminal, the processing, memory, communications,storage, and other hardware as well as software resources required to becombined to build the virtual machines or other resources are all hostedremotely in the one or more clouds 102. In embodiments, the set ofvirtual machines 116 or other services, machines, or resources may notdepend in any degree on or require the user's own on-premise hardware orother resources. In embodiments, a user can therefore request andinstantiate a set of virtual machines or other resources on a purelyoff-premise basis, for instance to build and launch a virtualstorefront, messaging site, and/or any other application. Likewise, oneor more clouds 102 can also be formed in whole or part from resourceshosted or maintained by the users of those clouds, themselves.

Because the cloud management system 104 in one regard specifies, builds,operates and manages the set of instantiated virtual machines 116 on alogical or virtual level, the user can request and receive differentsets of virtual machines and other resources on a real-time or nearreal-time basis, without a need to specify, install, or configure anyparticular hardware. The user's set of instantiated virtual machines116, processes, services, and/or other resources can in one regardtherefore be scaled up or down immediately or virtually immediately onan on-demand basis, if desired. In embodiments, the set of resourceservers 108 that are accessed by the cloud management system 104 tosupport the set of instantiated virtual machines 116 or processes canchange or be substituted, over time. The type and operatingcharacteristics of the set of instantiated virtual machines 116 cannevertheless remain constant or virtually constant, since instances areassembled from a collection of abstracted resources that can be selectedand maintained from diverse sources based on uniform specifications.Conversely, the users of the set of instantiated virtual machines 116can also change or update the resource or operational specifications ofthose machines at any time. The cloud management system 104 and/or otherlogic can then adapt the allocated resources for that population ofvirtual machines or other entities, on a dynamic basis.

In terms of network management of the set of instantiate virtualmachines 116 that have been successfully configured and instantiated,the one or more cloud management systems 104 associated with thosemachines can perform various network management tasks includingsecurity, maintenance, and metering for billing or subscriptionpurposes. The cloud management system 104 of one or more clouds 102 can,for example, install, initiate, suspend, or terminate instances ofapplications or appliances on individual machines. The cloud managementsystem 104 can similarly monitor one or more operating virtual machinesto detect any virus or other rogue process on individual machines, andfor instance terminate an application identified as infected, or avirtual machine detected to have entered a fault state. The cloudmanagement system 104 can likewise manage the set of instantiatedvirtual machines 116 or other resources on a network-wide or othercollective basis, for instance, to push the delivery a software upgradeto all active virtual machines or subsets of machines. Other networkmanagement processes can be carried out by cloud management system 104and/or other associated logic.

In embodiments, more than one set of virtual machines can beinstantiated in a given cloud at the same time, at overlapping times,and/or at successive times or intervals. The cloud management system 104can, in such implementations, build, launch and manage multiple sets ofvirtual machines as part of the set of instantiated virtual machines 116based on the same or different underlying set of resource servers 108,with populations of different virtual machines such as may be requestedby the same or different users. The cloud management system 104 caninstitute and enforce security protocols in one or more clouds 102hosting one or more sets of virtual machines. Each of the individualsets or subsets of virtual machines in the set of instantiated virtualmachines 116 can be hosted in a respective partition or sub-cloud of theresources of the main cloud 102. The cloud management system 104 of oneor more clouds 102 can for example deploy services specific to isolatedor defined sub-clouds, or isolate individual workloads/processes withinthe cloud to a specific sub-cloud or other sub-domain or partition ofthe one or more clouds 102 acting as host. The subdivision of one ormore clouds 102 into distinct transient sub-clouds, sub-components, orother subsets which have assured security and isolation features canassist in establishing a multiple user or multi-tenant cloudarrangement. In a multiple-user scenario, each of the multiple users canuse the cloud platform as a common utility while retaining the assurancethat their information is secure from other users of the same one ormore clouds 102. In further embodiments, sub-clouds can nevertheless beconfigured to share resources, if desired.

In embodiments, and as also shown in FIG. 2, the set of instantiatedvirtual machines 116 generated in a first cloud in one or more clouds102 can also interact with a set of instantiated virtual machines,services, and/or processes generated in a second, third or further cloudin one or more clouds 102, comprising a multiple-cloud network 110. Thecloud management system 104 of a first cloud of one or more clouds 102can interface with the cloud management system 104 of a second, third,or further cloud of one or more clouds 102 to coordinate those domainsand operate the clouds and/or virtual machines, services, and/orprocesses on a combined basis. The cloud management system 104 of agiven cloud on one or more clouds 102 can in aspects track and manageindividual virtual machines or other resources instantiated in thatcloud, as well as the set of instantiated virtual machines or otherresources in other clouds.

In the foregoing and other embodiments, the user making an instantiationrequest or otherwise accessing or utilizing the cloud network can be aperson, customer, subscriber, administrator, corporation, organization,government, and/or other entity. In embodiments, the user can be orinclude another virtual machine, application, service and/or process. Infurther embodiments, multiple users or entities can share the use of aset of virtual machines or other resources.

In aspects, the cloud management system 104 and/or other logic orservice that manages, configures, and tracks cloud activity can beconfigured to interact with other sites, platforms, engines, servers,and/or associated services that are configured to organize and managethe transport and delivery of existing data stores from on-premisedatabases or other sources, and stage that data to data storageresources at, near, co-hosted, or otherwise in geographic proximity to aset of host storage clouds in which that data payload will be placed andstored. In aspects, the cloud distribution data service (which may bereferred to as “CDD”, “CDD service,” “data delivery service,” or otherreferences herein) can be located at the network edge to either or bothof the premise data sources, and/or the set of host storage clouds. Inaspects, this staging or staggering of potentially large-scale or verylarge-scale data stores can permit the connection between the datasource(s), intermediate or staged data stores, and/or the host clouddata stores using dedicated and/or high-bandwidth lines, channels, orconnections to permit the efficient and timely porting of that data to ahost storage cloud or clouds of the user's choice. In aspects, the datapayload or portions thereof can be located, extracted and transmitted asan image or copy of the subject data, with the original cloud-hostedbeing preserved in the set of host storage clouds. In aspects, the datapayload and/or portions thereof can be located, extracted, andtransmitted without leaving the original data stored in the set of hoststorage clouds, such as by deleting that data upon reading-out, or usingother techniques.

In those regards, FIG. 3 illustrates a network implementation in which,in various cases, an administrator, owner, operator, and/or other userof a premise network 160 may wish to consider identifying, collecting,and migrating or transporting their databases, data files, and/or otherdata assets to a set of host storage clouds 182. In aspects and merelyillustratively, the premise network 160 can contain or includeon-premise, bare-metal, and/or other virtual or physical assetsincluding a set of premise servers 162, a set of premise clients 166,one or more local area networks (LANs) 164 such as an Ethernet™ or Wifi™network, a virtual private network (VPN), and/or other networks orconnection topologies. The premise network 160 can include or interfaceto one or more networks 106, such as the public Internet and/or otherpublic or private networks.

The premise network 160 can likewise include a set of premise datastores 168, such as one or more databases, data stores, servers,redundant arrays of inexpensive disks (RAID) installations, optical orsolid-state storage or devices, and/or other data storage repositories,resources, or assets. In aspects, the set of premise data stores 168 canstore different types of data, including, for example, technical,medical, financial, customer, inventory, scientific, and/or other data.The data hosted or stored in the set of premise data stores 168 cancomprise significantly or substantially large-scale data, for exampledata or files comprising terabytes or other amounts of data. Forinstance, the administrator, owner, operator, and/or other user of acorporation, hospital, educational institution, government body, and/orother entity may collect and maintain a set of data in a set of premisedata stores 168 such as local databases, data centers, database filesand/or engines, repositories, and/or other data assets, services, and/orother storage sites of resources. In cases, the set of premise datastores 168 can host and store a significant or substantial amount ofdata, such as terabytes, petabytes, exabytes, yottabytes, and/or otheramounts of data. In aspects, the administrator, owner, operator, and/orother user responsible for hosting and/or maintaining that data in theset of premise data stores 168 may, for various reasons, wish to migratesome or all of that data to one or more local cloud data stores 180 inthe set of host storage clouds 182, such as to leverage cost,maintenance, capacity, security, and/or other advantages or factorsavailable in the set of host storage clouds 182.

In aspects, it can be the case that if the owner, administrator, and/orother user of the user premise network 160 attempted to transport asignificant amount of the data stored in the set of premise data stores168 via one or more networks 106 such as the Internet in an unmanagedfashion, the comparatively low bandwidth or lack of reliability in thepacket-switched public Internet could render the data transferdifficult, impractical, unfeasible, or impossible due to the limitationsof those types of channels or connections. The upload of terabytes orother amounts of data over public Internet or similar connections couldrequire days of time or more, and data integrity or reliability issuescould also affect the effectiveness of data migration attempted in thatmanner.

According to aspects, systems and methods for staged data migrationbetween data sources and cloud-based storage networks according to thepresent teachings can be deployed to assist in reducing, avoiding, oreliminating those and other types of performance degradations and otherfactors having a potential negative impact on the transport of data fromon-premise and/or other sources to the set of host storage clouds 182and/or other cloud-based storage assets, services, or resources. Inimplementations of the present teachings, a data distribution service172 can accordingly be established or deployed as an independent serviceor access point, available publicly or privately to potentialsubscribers to the set of host storage clouds 182, to condition,prepare, receive, and stage incoming data payloads or data sets fordelivery to an eventual cloud storage host, using enhanced, dedicated,and/or otherwise managed connections to reduce data transport time, toimprove transfer reliability and/or security, and/or to provide otherfactors or benefits. In aspects, the data distribution service 172 canestablish or maintain physical points of presence (PoPs) and/or otherconnections to one or more networks 106, such as the Internet and/orother public or private networks, through which users or potential userscan connect to the data distribution service 172 and its associatedresources, logic, and services. According to aspects, the datadistribution service 172 can host or execute a staging engine 174 thatcan contain software application, operating system, and/or other logicor resources to manage the transport and delivery of a data payload 184from the set of premise data stores 168 and/or other sources to a set ofhost storage clouds 182. In aspects, the data distribution service 172can be configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the cloudmanagement system 104 of each of the set of host storage clouds 182, forinstance via the Internet and/or other public or private networks orconnections. In aspects, the data distribution service 172 can alsomaintain a set of staged data stores 176, such as databases, datastores, servers, and/or other data assets or resources with which tostore and stage the data payload 184 for migration into one or morelocal cloud data stores 180 hosted in the set of host storage clouds182. In aspects, each cloud in the set of host storage clouds 182 canhost one or multiple local cloud data stores 180.

According to implementations of the present teachings, the datadistribution service 172 can operate to manage, organize, and/or enhanceor optimize the transfer of the data payload 184 from the set of premisedata stores 168 and/or other sources by staggering, staging,pre-staging, conditioning, and/or otherwise manipulating andadministering the transfer of the data payload 184 to the set of stageddata stores 176 via sets of selectable and/or configurable channels orconnections. In aspects, those channels or connections can be or includea set of dedicated staging connections 170 that connect the user premisenetwork 160 to the data distribution service 172 and the set of stageddata stores 176. In aspects, the set of dedicated staging connections170 can be or include any one or more of asynchronous transfer mode(ATM) networks or connections, wide area networks (WANs) or connections,metropolitan area networks (MANs) or connections, fiber opticalconnections such as synchronous optical networking (SONET) orsynchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) connections, wireless connections,cable or wireline connections, virtual private networks (VPNs) orconnections, and/or other channels or connections. In aspects, theconnections in the set of dedicated staging connections 170 can be orinclude channels or connections can having a relatively high-capacitybandwidth or service level, such as for instance tens of megabytes persecond, hundreds of megabytes per second, gigabytes per second, tens ofgigabytes per second, hundreds of gigabytes per second, terabytes persecond, and/or other data transfer rates or bandwidth ratings orcapacities. In aspects, any one or more of the connections or channelsin the set of dedicated staging connections 170 can comprise connectionswhich are leased by a user on a temporary, demand-triggered, long-term,and/or other basis. And one or more of the connections or channels inthe set of dedicated staging connections 170 can be or include permanentor dedicated channels, line, and/or connections, dynamically routed orconfigured channels or connections, and/or other channels orconnections.

In aspects, the administrator, owner, operator, and/or other user of theuser premise network 160 can specify a set of conditions, criteria,and/or other parameters to govern the transport of the data payload 184during delivery to the data distribution service 172 and/or to theeventual set of host storage clouds 182, which information can be storedor encoded in a set of transport parameters 186, which can be stored inthe staging engine 174 and/or other locations or stores. The set oftransport parameters 186 can, for instance, specify a total amount ofdata to be include in the data payload 184 for delivery to the datadistribution service 172, as well as a schedule over which or time bywhich the administrator, owner, operator, and/or other user wishes toconduct and complete the migration of the data payload 184 to the datadistribution service 172. The set, of transport parameters 186 canlikewise include cost specifications, for instance, in cases where thecost of leasing or using any of the set of dedicated staging connections170 is selectable or variable. The set of transport parameters 186 canalso include further configuration parameters, such as any security orredundancy protocols or standards that the administrator, owner,operator, and/or other user wishes to apply to the transport of the datapayload to the data distribution service 172, user access controls tothe data payload 184 before or after transport has been initiated orcompleted. Other parameters, configuration settings, commands, scripts,and/or other criteria, variables, or conditions can be specified orindicated in the set of transport parameters 186.

As a merely illustrative example, the administrator, owner, operator,and/or other user can enter or encode the set of transport parameters186 to indicate that a data transport event is desired to migrate thedata payload 184 from the user premise network 160 under criteria that1,000 terabytes of data is to be transported by an ending time of 12:00midnight on a specified data, at an average cost of not more than $0.25per megabyte and with the data payload 184 encrypted using the DataEncryption Standard (DES) and/or other encryption or security protocol,and with the data payload 184 to be stored in the set of staged datastores 176 of the data distribution service 172 in XML (extensiblemarkup language) or other format. The set of transport parameters 186can be selected, entered, and/or otherwise transmitted from the userpremise network 160 or other site to the data distribution service 172,for instance via a selector tool, Web browser, and/or other applicationor interface. The set of transport parameters 186 can, in aspects, inwhole or part specify the set of dedicated staging connections 170 to beused for delivery of the data payload 184 and/or associated informationto the data distribution service 172, for instance via manual selectionor input received from the administrator, owner, operator, and/or otheruser.

In aspects, the data payload 184 and/or associated information can bemigrated or transported partly or entirely via the set of dedicatedstaging connections 170. For instance, the administrator, owner,operator, and/or other user may transmit some of the data payload 184and/or associated information via the one or more networks, in additionto the set of dedicated staging connections 170. For example,configuration commands, the set of transport parameters 186 or portionsof or updates to the set of transport parameters 180, can be transmittedvia the one or more networks 106, for instance via the public Internet,since in aspects comparatively higher-bandwidth connections may not benecessary to transmit relatively small amounts of commands and/or dataor elements of the data. In cases, the one or more networks 106 can inaddition or instead transport at least a portion of the data payload184, for instance, to transmit supplemental data or attributes whosedelivery target time is not immediate or a high priority. Othercombinations of the one or more networks 106, the set of dedicatedstaging connections 170, other networks or connections, and/orcombinations thereof can be used.

In aspects, after transport of the data payload 184 to the set of stageddata stores 176 of the data distribution service 172 has been completed,the data distribution service 172 can finalize the installation,storage, and/or hosting of the data payload 184 and/or associatedinformation in the one or more local cloud data stores 180 beforeinitiating activities related to further transport of the data payload184 to the one or more local cloud data stores 180 of one or more of theset of local host storage clouds 182. The data distribution service 172can store, host, and maintain the data payload 184 in the set of stageddata stores 176 for temporary, short-term, and/or longer or otherperiods, depending on the set of transfer parameters 186 and/or otherfactors. For instance, the staging engine 174 of the data distributionservice 172 can determine that the administrator, owner, operator,and/or other user has specified or requested that the transfer of thedata payload 184 into the one or more local cloud data stores 180 of oneor more of the set of local host storage clouds 182 be initiated by 9:00p.m. on a certain date. To satisfy that scheduling criterion, thestaging engine 174 can identify the size and/or type of data in the datapayload 184, analyze or estimate the bandwidth available in the set ofdedicated staging connections 170, and set a target delivery completiontime of 11:00 p.m. on the specified delivery date, taking into accountthe interval of time that will be necessary to transport the datapayload 184 over the available bandwidth of the selected channels in theset of dedicated staging connections 170 to complete transfer of thedata payload 184 by 11:00 p.m. on that scheduled date. If the transportprocess proceeds to complete by the calculated completion time of 11:00p.m. on that date, the data of the data payload 184 and/or anyassociated information can accordingly reside in the set of staged datastores 176 of the data distribution service 172 for one hour before thestaging engine 174 initiates the further or next-stage migration ortransport of the data payload 184 to the one or more local cloud datastores 180 of one or more of the set of local host storage clouds 182.The set of staged data stores 176 of the data distribution service 172can host the data payload 184 and/or associated information for lesseror greater amounts of times, for instance, for periods of minutes,hours, days, weeks, months, and/or other periods or intervals, dependingon the set of transfer parameters 186 and/or other factors. Forinstance, in an illustrative implementation involving payload data 184including enterprise resource planning (ERP) data related to a chemicalor automotive factory, the manufacturing data, materials deliveries andcosts, factory repair or maintenance events or schedules, and/or otherdata may be tracked, stored, and updated on a monthly cycle. In those orother implementations, the administrator, owner, operator, and/or otheruser may specify that the data payload 184 encapsulating that ERP and/orother data can or should be migrated over a period of 30 days and/orbefore the next regular update cycle, in which case the datadistribution service 172 may determine that the data payload 184 can beextracted to the data distribution service 172 over a period of 30 days,for instance so as to use a comparatively lower amount of bandwidth inthe set of dedicated staging connections 170 and thereby incur lessconnection leasing costs. In cases where the set of staged data stores176 of the data distribution service 172 stores, hosts, and/or maintainsthe data payload 184 over significant intervals of time, such as days orweeks of time, and/or other intervals or periods, the data distributionservice 172 can also apply or enforce data conditioning or maintenancestandards or procedures on the data payload 184 or other information.For example, in cases where the data payload 184 includes medicalinformation, the data distribution service 172 can apply user accesscontrols such as username/password authentication and/or dataencryption, for instance to satisfy the requirements of the HealthInsurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), the requirementsof the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), or other regulatory or compliancestipulations or requirements. Other compliance, management, and/orsecurity protocols can be applied to the data payload 184 and/or otherinformation stored in the set of staged data stores 176 of the datadistribution service 172, regardless of the duration of time thatinformation is staged in the data distribution service 172. Forinstance, during the period that the data payload 184 resides or ishosted in the data distribution service 172, the data distributionservice 172 can also communicate with the user premise network 160 tointerrogate that source network for any incremental or other updates tothe data payload 184, and incorporate those updates into the datapayload 184 stored in the set of staged data stores 176 of the datadistribution service 172. Other data conditioning or processing can beperformed on the data payload 184 while hosted or stored in the set ofstaged data stores 176 of the data distribution service 172.

In aspects, the data distribution service 172 can be installed,configured, and/or located in geographic proximity to the set of hoststorage clouds 182, the one or more local cloud data stores 180, and/orother network elements or sites. As used or described in thisapplication, in aspects, locations within geographic proximity to eachother can be or include locations or sites located within the same cityor metropolitan area, and/or within the same general region, such aswithin a state in the U.S. and/or a multi-state region generallyrecognized as constituting a cohesive geographic region, such as, merelyfor example, the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area, and/orothers. In aspects, locations within geographic proximity to each othercan also or instead be or include areas or regions within which direct,continuous, connectable, configurable, leasable, primary, and/orotherwise uninterrupted or unmediated physical or wireless connectionsare available to establish communications links between two or morenetwork points, sites, and/or entities within a geographic region,section, and/or area. In aspects, network sites, points includingphysical points of presence (PoPs), and/or other elements can beconsidered to be within geographic proximity to each other if thosesites or points can be connected directly or essentially directly viacomparatively high-bandwidth channels or connections, and/or withoutresorting to connections via the public Internet. For example, networksites, points including physical points of presence (PoPs), and/or otherelements can be considered to be within geographic proximity to eachother if those sites, points, and/or other elements can be connecteddirectly or essentially directly via one or more wide area networks(WANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), optical connections such assynchronous optical network (SONET) connections, and/or othercomparatively high-bandwidth channels or connections, as will beunderstood by persons skilled in the art. While network sites, pointsincluding physical points of presence (PoPs), and/or other elements canbe considered as being within geographic proximity based on variousphysical, functional, and/or logical factors, in aspects, and purelyillustratively, network sites, points including physical points ofpresence (PoPs), and/or other elements that can be classified orconsidered as being within geographic proximity can be located withindistances of miles, tens of miles, hundreds of miles, and/or lesser orgreater distances of each other. Other factors, parameters, criteria,and/or considerations can be used to determine geographic proximitybetween network sites, points including physical points of presence(PoPs), and/or other elements as described herein.

Upon meeting, reaching, and/or otherwise satisfying the scheduled time,criteria, and/or conditions to initiate the further transfer of the datapayload 184 and/or associated information to the set of host storageclouds 182, the data distribution service 172 and/or other logic orservice can begin the processing to migrate that data or information tothe one or more local cloud data stores 180 of one or more clouds in theset of host storage clouds 182. In aspects, the delivery of the datapayload 184 and/or associated information to the set of host storageclouds 182 can be initiated at a scheduled time, such as a timespecified in the set of transport parameters 186 and/or other commandsor configuration data. In aspects, the delivery of the data payload 184and/or associated information to the set of host storage clouds 182 canbe initiated on an event-triggered basis, such as one hour or one dayafter completion of the transport of the data payload 184 to the datadistribution service 172. In aspects, the delivery of the data payload184 and/or associated information to the set of host storage clouds 182can also or instead be initiated by manual selection or command, forinstance, by a selection or command inputted by the administrator,owner, operator, and/or other user. Other conditions, commands,schedules, events, and/or criteria can be used to identify a time atwhich to begin, pause, continue, and/or otherwise deliver the datapayload 184 and/or associated information from the data distributionservice 172 to the one or more local cloud data stores 180 of one ormore clouds in the set of host storage clouds 182.

In aspects, the data payload 184 and/or other information can betransported or transmitted from the data distribution service 172 to theset of host storage clouds 182 via a set of dedicated transportconnections 178. In aspects, the set of dedicated transport connections178 can connect the set of staged data stores 176 directly or indirectlyto the one or more local cloud data stores 180 to migrate and installthe data payload 184 and/or associated information in the one or morelocal cloud data stores 180. In aspects, the set of dedicated transportconnections 178 can be or include connections or channels of the samegeneral type or types as the set of dedicated staging connections 170,and/or can include additional, separate, and/or different channels orconnections. In aspects, the set of staged data stores 176 can belocated within geographic proximity or near-geographic proximity, in thesenses noted herein, to one or more of the clouds in the set of hoststorage clouds 182 and/or the constituent elements of those clouds,including the cloud management system(s) 104 and/or one or more localcloud data stores 180. In aspects, the staging engine 174 and/or otherlogic or service can initiate and manage the transfer of the datapayload 184 and/or image thereof stored or hosted in the set of stageddata stores 176 to the one or more local cloud data stores 180 via theset of dedicated transport connections 178 on a scheduled,event-triggered, manually-specified, and/or other basis. The migrationor transport of the data payload 184 and/or associated data can forinstance be programmed to begin at a specified time on a specified date,and/or to begin upon the detection of specified events, such asvalidation of the data payload 184 and/or associated data using errorcorrection, decryption, and/or other processing or protocols. Inaspects, the migration or transport of the data payload 184 and/orassociated data can be initiated by receipt of a command, input, and/orother signal from the administrator, owner, operator, and/or other user,for instance, received via a tool, interface, or browser operated by theadmin in the user premise network 160 and/or other location or site.

After the transfer of the data payload 184 and/or other associated datahas been initiated, the staging engine 174 and/or other logic or servicecan monitor the transport of that data while in-flight, for instance, toperform data validation of migrated data using for instance check-sum orother processing, encryption/decryption of the data while traversing theset of dedicated transport connections 178, and/or to perform othersupervisory or monitoring tasks to ensure the integrity of the databeing moved and the migration process. After the successful completionof all data transport, validation, security, and/or other processingrequired for migration of the data payload 184 and/or relatedinformation, the staging engine 174 can detect, confirm, and/or declarethe completion of the transfer of the data payload 184 and/or associatedinformation to the set of host storage clouds 182. In aspects, thestaging engine 174, one or more cloud management system(s) 104, and/orother logic can store and/or encode the data payload 184 and/orassociated information in the one or more local cloud data stores 180 invarious formats or configurations, such as, for example, any one or moreof a database including relational databases, an object-oriented dataobject such as an extensible markup language (XML)-based object, atable, tree, linked list, and/or other data object, format, file, and/orconfiguration. In aspects, the staging engine 174 can also perform anypost-transfer activities that may be selected or required to completethe installation and storage of the data payload 184 and/or relatedinformation in the set of host storage clouds 182. In aspects, forinstance, the staging engine 174 and/or other logic or service cancommunicate with the user premise network 160 to indicate that the datapayload 184 and/or associated information has been safely and/orcompletely migrated to the data distribution service 172, upon whichnotification the user premise network 160 can perform other actions,such as to delete and/or archive the data of the data payload 184 fromthe set of premise data stores 168. Other actions can be taken by or inthe user premise network 160.

For instance, upon completion of the data transport process, the stagingengine 174 and/or other logic or service can likewise communicate withthe cloud management system(s) 104 of one or more of the set of hoststorage clouds 182 to notify the one or more cloud management system(s)104 of the installation and presence of the data payload 184 and/orassociated data in the one or more local cloud data stores 180 of one ormore of the clouds in the set of host storage clouds 182.

In aspects, after the successful or completed transport of the datapayload 184 and/or associated information to the set of host storageclouds 182, the staging engine 174, cloud management system(s) 104,and/or other logic or service can for instance register the data payload184 and/or associated data in the file storage system or systems used bythe one or more cloud management system(s) 104 and/or set of hoststorage clouds 182. In aspects, registration of the data payload 184and/or associated data in corresponding file storage system or systemsmaintained or operated by the one or more cloud management system(s) 104and/or set of host storage clouds 182 can permit, for instance, virtualmachines, operating systems, applications, and/or other software,services, and/or users of the set of host storage clouds 182 and/orother clouds or networks to access, read, retrieve, write, modify,and/or otherwise process the data payload 184 and/or associatedinformation directly from or via the set of host storage clouds 182. Inaspects, the staging engine 174 and/or other logic or service can atsuch times or at other times de-activate, release, and/or otherwiseterminate some or all of the set of dedicated staging connections 170and/or set of dedicated transport connections 178, as desired orscheduled.

FIG. 4 illustrates a network 400 in which, in various cases, anadministrator, owner, operator, and/or other user associated with a datapayload may wish to consider transporting the data payload and/or otherdata to a host cloud. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the administratorcan have a data payload 402 stored in the staged data store 176 of thedata distribution service 172. The administrator may wish to migrate thedata payload 402 to a cloud provider for storage purposes, processingrequirements, subscription rate decreases, and/or other reasons. Inaspects, the data payload 402 could have been previously transported tothe data distribution service 172 from a premise network associated withthe administrator, as discussed herein. In further aspects, the datapayload 402 could have been previously transported to the datadistribution service 172 from a cloud network via a set of dedicatedtransport connections, or via other configurations.

In aspects, the data distribution service 172 can be connected to one ormore candidate cloud providers. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, thedata distribution service 172 can be connected to cloud provider A 415,cloud provider B 420, cloud provider C 425, and cloud provider D 430. Inaspects, the data distribution service 172 can be connected to thecandidate cloud providers via multiple connections such as, for example,a network connection or a respective set of dedicated transport channels416, 421, 426, and 431. Further, the data distribution service 172 caninterface with components of the candidate cloud providers. For example,as shown in FIG. 4, the data distribution service 172 can interface witha cloud management system 104 and a set of resources 410 of each of thecloud providers 415, 420, 425, and 430, and other resources such as thelocal cloud data 180 of each of the cloud providers 415, 420, 425, and430. It should be appreciated that multiple data distribution servicescan be utilized to facilitate the transport of data to any number ofassociated cloud providers. For example, a first data distributionservice can transport the data payload 402 to a second data distributionservice, for potential transport to a cloud provider associated with thesecond data distribution service.

According to aspects, the data distribution service 172 can comprise adata deployment tool 405 that can facilitate the transportation,migration, and otherwise movement of data among components of thenetwork 400. For example, the data deployment tool 405 can direct thetransport of the data payload 402 from a premise network of anadministrator to the data distribution server 172, and/or from the datadistribution service 172 to one or more of the candidate cloudproviders. In aspects, an administrator, owner, or other entityassociated with the data distribution service 172, data payload 402, anyof the candidate cloud providers, or other entities can interface withthe data deployment tool 405.

According to aspects, the data deployment tool 405 can receive arequest, a set of instructions, or any type of indication from theadministrator of the data payload 402, and/or other administrators, toidentify candidate cloud providers to which to transport the datapayload 402. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the data deployment tool405 can determine that any of cloud providers 415, 420, 425, and 430 cancomprise resources, such as the respective sets of resources 410, towhich to transport the data payload 402. In aspects, the data deploymenttool 405 can automatically initiate functionality related to identifyingthe candidate cloud providers. For example, upon a migration of the datapayload 402 to the data distribution service from, for example, anon-premise network, the data deployment tool 405 can initiatefunctionality related to examining candidate cloud providers. In otheraspects, the administrator can specify one or more candidate cloudproviders to which to attempt to transport the data payload 402. Forexample, the administrator can request an attempt to transport the datapayload 402 to cloud provider C 425.

The data deployment tool 405 can identify one or more relationships thatthe administrator of the data payload 402 can have with any of thecandidate cloud providers. In aspects, the relationship can be anyexisting or new subscription, set of entitlements, association, offer,and/or the like, between the administrator or other entity and thecandidate cloud provider. For example, the administrator may havealready received a subscription offer from one of the candidate cloudproviders that details rates for hosting the data payload. For furtherexample, the administrator may already have a subscription with one ofthe candidate cloud providers in which another data payload of the useris hosted in the candidate cloud provider. It should be appreciated thatother types of relationships, subscriptions, entitlement states, offers,associations, and/or the like between the administrator and any of thecandidate cloud providers are envisioned.

In aspects, the data deployment tool 405 can determine which of thecandidate cloud providers are configured to host the data payload basedon any relationships between the administrator and the candidate cloudproviders. For example, the administrator can have existing entitlementswith one or more of the candidate cloud providers to, such as,instantiate a set of virtual machines, execute software, and/or useother resources or services of the one or more candidate cloudproviders. In aspects, the one or more candidate cloud providers thathave a relationship with the administrator can be presented to theadministrator for a selection. For example, the data deployment tool 405or other logic can present the determined one or more candidate cloudproviders to the administrator in a graphical user interface (GUI), viaa data or voice communication, or other data delivery channels. Further,one or more offers associated with hosting the data payload can bepresented to the administrator. For example, the offers can detail aprice of hosting the data payload, as well as other data such as a termcommitment, a data capacity, and other information.

In aspects, the administrator can interrogate, query, or message thedetermined candidate cloud providers, or any entity associated with thedetermined candidate cloud providers, to receive further offers oradjustments to the original offers. For example, the administrator caninterrogate the candidate cloud providers for an offer that is lowerthan the original offer. For further example, the administrator can usean existing subscription with one of the candidate cloud providers toleverage a lower cost or rate. In response, the candidate cloudproviders can present a modified offer that meets or is closer to theadministrator's expectations. It should be appreciated that othernegotiating and bargaining techniques are envisioned. In aspects, thedata deployment tool 405 or other logic can receive a selection from theadministrator for one of the candidate cloud providers that werepresented to the administrator. For example, the administrator canselect the original offer or any of the modified or updated offers. Inother aspects, the administrator can select more than one of thecandidate cloud providers, or other various combinations of thecandidate cloud providers.

In aspects, the data deployment tool 405 or other logic can initiate andconduct a transport of the data payload 402 to the selected candidatecloud provider. For example, if the administrator selects cloud providerC 425 to host the data payload 402, the data payload 402 can betransported to cloud provider C 425 via the set of dedicated transportchannels 426, to be stored on the set of resources 410 or othercomponents or resources. It should be appreciated that other datatransport channels are envisioned. In aspects, the data deployment tool405 can encrypt and/or decrypt the data payload during any transport ormigration, and/or establish secure communication channels among anyentities associated with the data distribution service 172. In aspects,the data payload 405 can be split and transported to multiple candidatecloud providers, as specified by the administrator or another entity.

As an example, suppose an administrator of a financial institutiondesires to transport a data payload from a data distribution service toa cloud provider associated with the data distribution service, whereinthe data payload comprises customer data such as account information.The administrator can desire to inquire about different hosting offersfrom various cloud providers. Further, merely for example, theadministrator can have an existing relationship with the various cloudproviders such as, for example, an existing data hosting arrangement.Logic such as the data deployment tool 405 can query the various cloudproviders to inquire about the ability of the various cloud providers tohost the data payload. If any of the cloud providers can host the datapayload, the cloud providers can provide a subscription offer to theadministrator. For example, the cloud providers can offer to host thedata payload for a specified yearly rate. In aspects, the offer can besimilar to, based on, or otherwise related to the existingrelationship(s) that the administrator as with the cloud providers.

In response to receiving the offers, the administrator can query theoffering cloud providers in an attempt to modify the offer. For example,the administrator can desire to reduce a specified yearly rate, or canoffer to sign a two year subscription in exchange for a lower yearlyrate, or other modification requests. For further example, theadministrator can attempt to use the existing relationship as leveragefor a more favorable offer from the associated cloud providers. Once anegotiation or offer modification is complete, the administrator canselect a subscription plan. Further, the data can be transported to theappropriate cloud provider for hosting, according to the selectedsubscription plan.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary diagram of hardware and other resourcesthat can be incorporated in a cloud management system 104 configured tocommunicate with the set of instantiated virtual machines 116, and/orother entities, services, or resources via one or more networks 106and/or other connections, according to aspects. In embodiments as shown,the cloud management system 104 can comprise a processor 130communicating with memory 132, such as electronic random access memory,operating under control of or in conjunction with an operating system136. The operating system 136 can be, for example, a distribution of theLinux™ operating system, the Unix™ operating system, or otheropen-source or proprietary operating system or platform. The processor130 also communicates with a database 138, such as a database stored ona local hard drive, and a cloud management module 140, to executecontrol logic and control the operation of virtual machines and otherresources in one or more clouds 102, a set of target clouds, and/orother collections of clouds. The processor 130 further communicates witha network interface 134, such as an Ethernet or wireless dataconnection, which in turn communicates with the one or more networks106, such as the Internet or other public or private networks. Theprocessor 130 and/or the cloud management system 104 can likewisecommunicate with the data deployment tool 405 of the data distributionservice 172 or other staging area, and/or other interfaces,applications, services, and/or logic. Other configurations of the cloudmanagement system 104, associated network connections, and otherhardware, software, and service resources are possible. It may be notedthat in embodiments, the data distribution service 172 and/or componentsthereof such as the data deployment tool 405, and/or other hardwaremachines, platforms, or engines can comprise the same or similarresources as cloud management system 104, or can be configured withdifferent hardware and software resources.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of overall processing that can be used toidentify candidate host clouds for a data payload, according to variousaspects of the present teachings. In 602, processing can begin. In 604,a data payload of a user can be received at a data distribution servicefrom a premise network. In embodiments, the data payload can be receivedfrom the premise network via any type of network connection. In 606, aset of host clouds associated with the data distribution service can beidentified as potential candidates to which to transport the datapayload. In embodiments, the set of host clouds can be at: near,co-hosted, or otherwise in geographic proximity to the data distributionservice, or otherwise connected to the data distribution service via anetwork.

In 608, a relationship of the user with each of the set of host cloudscan be identified. In embodiments, the relationship can be pre-existingand/or can be related to a set of established entitlements,subscriptions, and/or the like. In 610, at least one of the set of hostclouds configured to host the data payload can be determined based onthe relationship of the user with the at least one of the set of hostclouds. In embodiments, the user can have an existing subscription withthe at least one of the set of host clouds, or other relationships.

In 612, an identification the at least one of the set of host clouds canbe presented to the user. In embodiments, the identification of the atleast one of the set of host clouds can be presented via, for example, agraphical user interface, or any other type of data communication. Infurther embodiments, subscription offers or information related to theat least one of the set of host clouds can also be presented to theuser. In 614, a selection from the user for the at least one of the setof host clouds can be received. In embodiments, the user can select oneor many of the set of host clouds that are configured to host the datapayload. In further embodiments, the user can interrogate the set ofhost clouds for offers or adjustments related to hosting the datapayload. In 616, a transport of the data payload from the datadistribution service to the selected host cloud can be initiated. Inembodiments, the data can be transferred via a set of dedicatedtransport channels, or via other connections. In 618, processing canrepeat, return to a prior processing point, jump to a further processingpoint, or end.

The foregoing description is illustrative, and variations inconfiguration and implementation may occur to persons skilled in theart. For example, while embodiments have been described in which thecloud management system 104 for a particular cloud resides in a singleserver or platform, in embodiments the cloud management system 104 andassociated logic can be distributed among multiple servers, services, orsystems. Similarly, while embodiments have been described in which onegroup of servers within a set of resource servers 108 can provide onecomponent to build a requested set of virtual machines, in embodiments,one group of resource servers can deliver multiple components topopulate the requested set of instantiated virtual machines 116, and/orother machines, entities, services, or resources. Other resourcesdescribed as singular or integrated can in embodiments be plural ordistributed, and resources described as multiple or distributed can inembodiments be combined. The scope of the invention is accordinglyintended to be limited only by the following claims.

1. A method of processing data, comprising: identifying a data payloadstored in a data distribution service, wherein a user is associated withthe data payload; identifying a set of candidate host clouds associatedwith the data distribution service; examining a relationship of the userwith each of the set of candidate host clouds; and presenting, to theuser based on the examination, at least one of the set of candidate hostclouds configured to host the data payload.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving the data payload from a premise networkassociated with the user.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, from the user, a selection of the at least one of the set ofcandidate host clouds; and initiating a transport of the data payload inthe data distribution service to resources associated with the at leastone of the set of candidate host clouds that was selected.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the set of candidate host clouds is connected to thedata distribution service via a set of dedicated transport channelconnections.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the at leastone of the set of candidate host clouds comprises providing anindication of at least one offer to host the data payload.
 6. The methodof claim 5, further comprising: interrogating the at least one of theset of candidate host clouds for a modification to the at least oneoffer; and receiving, from the at least one of the set of candidate hostclouds, a modified offer to host the data payload.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the relationship of the user with each of the set ofcandidate host clouds comprises an established entitlement orsubscription with each of the set of candidate host clouds.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the relationship of the user with each of theset of candidate host clouds comprises a previous offer received fromeach of the set of candidate host clouds.
 9. The method of claim 3,further comprising: transporting the data payload to the resourcesassociated with the at least one of the set of candidate host cloudsthat was selected via a set of dedicated transport channels.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the set of candidate hostclouds configured to host the data payload is presented to the user viaa graphical user interface (GUI).
 11. A system for processing data,comprising: an interface to a data distribution service; and aprocessor, communicating with the data distribution service via theinterface, the processor being configured to: identify a data payloadstored in the data distribution service, wherein a user is associatedwith the data payload; identify a set of candidate host cloudsassociated with the data distribution service; examine a relationship ofthe user with each of the set Of candidate host clouds; and present, tothe user based on the examination, at least one of the set of candidatehost clouds configured to host the data payload.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the datapayload from a premise network associated with the user.
 13. The systemof claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive,from the user, a selection of the at least one of the set of candidatehost clouds; and initiate a transport of the data payload in the datadistribution service to resources associated with the at least one ofthe set of candidate host clouds that was selected.
 14. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the set of candidate host clouds is connected to thedata distribution service via a set of dedicated transport channelconnections.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein presenting the at leastone of the set of candidate host clouds comprises providing anindication of at least one offer to host the data payload.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to:interrogate the at least one of the set of candidate host clouds for amodification to the at least one offer; and receive, from the at leastone of the set of candidate host clouds, a modified offer to host thedata payload.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the relationship ofthe user with each of the set of candidate host clouds comprises anestablished entitlement or subscription with each of the set ofcandidate host clouds.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein therelationship of the user with each of the set of candidate host cloudscomprises a previous offer received from each of the set of candidatehost clouds.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: transport the data payload to the resourcesassociated with the at least one of the set of candidate host cloudsthat was selected via a set of dedicated transport channels.
 20. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the at least one of the set of candidatehost clouds configured to host the data payload is presented to the uservia a graphical user interface (GUI).